You Would Never Believe It
by quietweaver
Summary: FFXII: The hapless gamer Ewok is distraught by the loss of Balthier in her FFXII party. Through mysterious causes she is sucked into the magical world of Ivalice, and a strange quest for a mysterious object which will bond together the races of Ivalice..
1. Prologue

**Prologue: FFXII**

"No! No, Balthier! No, Balthier, please, please don't leave my party! Please!"

Ewok screamed at the television, fingers frantically pressing button after button, as if that would change the message splayed in gold across the screen.

_**.:Balthier has left the party:.**_

"No!" she sobbed into her hands. She knew it was extremely immature of her to get worked up about an animated FICTIONAL character, but she didn't care. The realisation almost a year earlier that Auron was dead had rocked her to the core, and now the loss of her favourite animated character in FFXII was too much for her to bear. She had braved learning a new battle system for him, and in turn he left her alone, with only that idiot Vaan to rely on. She yelled something to that effect to the television screen. Not one pixel moved. The controller fell from her hands and hit the carpet with a thud as tears escaped down her face.

_**.:Wait…no, don't cry:.**_

"I must really be insane" she mumbled "the TV is talking to me. Maybe I should've taken my pills…"

_**.:Look up… come girl, we don't have all day:.**_

She raised her head. The message in gold faded from the screen. Two hazel eyes looked at her. She opened her mouth, to say something. But the words never left her mouth, as the dark abyss of the television reached out in a wave of darkness, sucking her in to a place unknown.


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1: But you left the party?**

"Bloody Hume! Can you not control yourself?" a scathing ethereal female voice lashed out from the blackness.

"Well, obviously you think I can't, why bother asking me" another voice responded. The blackness slowly began to consolidate into bands of pulsing colours, with every second more definition swirled into Ewok's vision.

"Ow" Ewok blinked, her head pounding, colours still streaming around her, making her dizzy.

"Give her a potion Fran, she looks…"

"Why don't you give her the potion, you're the one who summoned her"

She heard a sigh. A weird sound went off and white lights glinted around spastically around like pyreflies from FFX.

"No more lights" she moaned, covering her eyes.

"Come on then, get up. I've healed you" the delightfully accented and familiar voice drawled. Moving her hands slightly and opening her eyes, she noticed that her vision had returned to normal. But what she saw was far from normal, or what she knew as home. She was not crawled up on the carpet, but on a cold stone floor. Looking up she nearly had a heart attack. There stood two people who she knew were fictional. A tall viera with arms folded, dark eyes scowling down at her. Only a little shorter than the viera was a man with short orange-brown hair. His clothes were tinged with a renaissance style. She knew his vest; she had attempted to draw the complex designs embroidered on it many a time. Fran and Balthier. She reached out and poked him in the ankle. He didn't disappear, shimmer away into reality like one of her many daydreams, but merely raised an eyebrow.

"…huh…but you left the party…and you're not real…I should have taken my pills…"

"As if she'll be any help, I think she's insane" Fran stated

"No, not totally" Balthier crouched down next to her, head tilted slightly as he took in her baggy jeans and green t-shirt. "Who are you, exactly? And where are you from?"

"Uh…" her mind momentarily went blank, for Balthier in real life was much hotter than the animated version. "Mmm…yeah…I'm Ewok, and…uh…I'm from…Australia…Planet Earth…uh..."

"So…no wonder you look confused, you must have come from halfway across the galaxy"

"Mmm" she stared at him, wondering if he would sign her t-shirt. "This…is Ivalice, right?"

"Yes, where else?" he answered with a dashing smile, and reached down to help her up.

"Uh, but why am I here? Did I fall asleep or something and this is my imagination…"

"Sadly, this isn't your imagination, and dearly I wish it was mine" Fran bit in, casting another glowering look over the petite girl.

"You're a bit evil" Ewok said to the tall Viera.

"Yes, she can be at times" Balthier said, grinning.

"So, why am I here? Didn't you say I was summoned?"

"Yes, well, it was as accident, because you see I found this spell…"

"And you just had to read it out loud in the right tone, didn't you!" spat Fran, obviously barely able to contain her fury. "Now we have another idiot teenager to look after and slow us down! And I bet she doesn't even know how to fight!"

"Yes I do!" Ewok piped in, "You press X to open the battle menu and…"

"With a REAL weapon, not a PS2 controller!" Fran was waving her bow around, as if to try and puncture through the mire surrounding the teenager's brain.

"Oh" was all she could say. She suddenly realised that they were standing in the Sandsea tavern, and that many Rabanastans were staring at her with wide eyes.

"We had better go and find you a disguise, otherwise everyone will be gaping at your strange attire. Come Fran" Balthier grabbed Ewok's arm and dragged her thought the crowd of gawping onlookers and out the door.


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2: Briefing**

"But my jeans are fine!" Ewok moaned, pouting slightly as Balthier flung various articles of clothing at her. All the clothing in the world seemed to be located in the crate, probably the spoils of pillaging some poor ship. She had initially been enthralled in finally seeing the Strahl, but she was less excited in exchanging her jeans and t-shirt for some bizarre Ivalice clothing that probably showed too much skin.

"No they're not. With your current attire you stick out like a Viera at a Moogle convention"

"So?"

He sighed, "Here you go. And no more complaining or I'll let Fran get you some clothing. And Viera clothing…" He broke, off shuddering, closing the door quietly on his way out. Ewok sighed and looked down at the clothes in her arms. She guessed they were not that bad, compared to Viera attire. She changed quickly, and examined her reflection in the dingy mirror. A green singlet, with swirls of darker and lighter green, pants of brown with tan interwoven in the weave, and knee high boots. She pulled her green belt from her jeans and tightened it around her hips. It could be much, much worse, she mused, tucking a brown curl behind an ear.

"I guess if I'm really in Ivalice I'll have to play the part" she murmured.

Somehow she managed to navigate to the cockpit, where Balthier and Fran were seated. The sky pirate was fiddling with dials and knobs, and occasionally pulling a lever.

"What are you doing?"

"Never you mind girl" Fran hissed.

"Geez, who got out of the wrong side of bed this morning…" she trailed off, the look in Fran's eyes could have melted Nethicite.

"Ok, I can see I'm not loved here, so can I go home now?"

"I'm sorry Ewok" Balthier looked up from his controls, "There may be a way to get you home, but a simple way I know not" She opened her mouth to complain, but one look silenced her.

"There is a story, in the times of old, of a person who could bring Ivalice together. My companions and I, after acquiring the command of the esper Belias, found more items in Raithwall's tomb, other than the dusk shard. It was that piece of parchment, with which I summoned you, and this disk" He held up a thin piece of mineral, which glittered in the dull cabinlight.

"It tells of…"

"Just show her it" Fran cut in, "That shall be easier than explaining it to one as thick-witted as herself"

Balthier slipped it into a slot below the console. The view of the hanger was blocked as the hologram image sprang up. It spat static for a moment, and then went black. Abruptly white writing appeared with a whooshing sound "Playstation 2". The hologram switched and showed a cloudy sky, and a familiar airship sped past "Square Enix presents…"

Ewok stared, mouth open, as the introduction trailer for Final Fantasy XII played, finally swishing into the black menu with the glimmering logo changing colours in the background. The commands new game and load game hovered, as if unsure if they should be there. She giggled slightly, looking from the real faces of Fran and Balthier to the computer generated renditions that had flashed across the screen.

"It's the game…"

"Silence" Fran began.

"But…" she looked up at the suddenly solemn eyes of Balthier, "…you can't use it?"

He shook his head, "No, we have not the tools and even if we did we do not know if we could wield them. They are too powerfull, too deadly to be wielded by any of Ivalice." He held out a piece of parchment. It was aged, spotted with grime and dust. But she could clearly see what was drawn on it in blotchy ink.

"A Playstation 2 controller? This is your ultimate weapon? I thought it was the Zodiac Spear"

"Apparently only through the combined power of the disk and the controller can we bring Ivalice together. This is as much as the Garif Elders could confirm for us." Somehow the seriousness of the situation had caused Fran to actually speak without contempt in her voice.

"We are headed towards Mount Bur Omisace. There hopefully we will find the information we need to restore peace" Balthier said, strangely out of character.

"Isn't that Ashe's job? She's the princess after all" Ewok was befuddled.

"The princess is in a bad mood at the moment. It's better to leave the world-saving up to the leading man"

"Right, I have a headache"


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3: Basch and Co.**

Ewok asked for the direction to the bathroom, hoping to get a drink, perhaps splash some water on her face to get rid of the murky tiredness that seemed to be creeping into her veins. After gaining her bearings, and muttering about the lack of a minimap, she headed off, through the small ship, getting lost even though it wasn't larger than the average apartment. Eventually, she found the bathroom. She pressed the open keypad and the hydraulics hissed. She would have proceeded to the sink but it was blocked by a man whose fashion sense seemed to have gone on the last airship out of Dalmasca. He had his back to her, and she could see the rough weave of a red vest, tan shorts with armour and shoes which seemed a mix between sandals and boots. He was leaning close to the mirror, just finishing shaving. He must have caught sight of her in the mirror, because he spun and looked at the short girl staring gob smacked at him. Of course she knew Basch would be here, but seeing him in the flesh really brought it home to her. She wasn't on earth anymore.

"Hi" she said in a small voice. For a stoic ex-knight he sure was intimidating.

"Hello" his voice was deep and husky, and she almost fainted. Much better than in the game. "Who are you?"

"I'm Ewok" she grinned, a safeguard against hyperventilation and possible drooling, "Balthier summoned me from Earth"

"Ah" understanding flickered in his eyes. "Fran told him not too. I am Basch" He reached out and took her hand in his, gripping it lightly. "What causes you to visit the bathroom, Ewok?" he said in all seriousness.

"Uh, just wanted to get a drink of water. Balthier said to go to the bathroom" It took all her self control not to start rolling around on the floor laughing. He was hilarious.

"Aye" he put down his razor, and grabbed a cup that he proceeded to fill with water. What an old-fashioned gentleman, exactly the opposite Balthier, who made up for this with his oozing charisma and charm. Accepting the cup with good grace, she thanked him and turned out of the bathroom where she leaned against the wall and sipped the flavourless liquid, trying to clear her head. Her thoughts were muddled, she couldn't sort them out. Finishing her drink, and still totally and utterly confused, she was about to turn back into the bathroom to put the cup back when two teenagers ran into her, bowling her over. Wincing slightly as she hit the hard floor of the airship, she gazed up at the pair. A boy with platinum blonde hair and a bizarre metal vest which hardly covered his chest looked down at her in confusion, as did a girl with blonde hair in two small plaits.

"Uh, sorry about Vaan" the girl with plaits called Penelo apologised.

"Hey, it's your fault too!" Vaan replied. "Anyway, who are you? Are you a sky pirate?"

Basch poked his head out of the bathroom, looking for the source of the commotion. Seeing Ewok sprawled on the ground, the knight helped the fazed girl to her feet. "Vaan, Penelo, don't run in the airship, Balthier will kill you… "

"And I can see you all over the security cameras, so you two, watch where you're going. And I swear Vaan, I will confiscate all of your Ethers if you keep running around like that…" the sky pirate's voice crackled over though the intercom.

"Basch, who's this?" Penelo asked.

"This is Ewok, she'd from Earth"

"Oh…right, so she's not a sky pirate" Vaan asked disappointed.

"…Not yet", Ewok grinned.


End file.
